Ravens Playoff Scenarios

To make the Playoffs on Sunday, the Ravens will need to get some help, along with a win. Per NFL.com, here are the scenarios needed for Baltimore to reach the playoffs for the sixth time in the John Harbaugh/Joe Flacco era:

1.) BAL win + SD loss or tie OR

2.) BAL win + MIA loss or tie OR

3.) BAL tie + MIA loss + SD loss or tie OR

4.) BAL tie + MIA tie + SD loss OR

5.) MIA loss + SD loss + PIT loss or tie

The gist of all this is that along with a Ravens win, you want to root for the Dolphins, Chargers, and (for good measure) the Steelers to lose. Let’s take a look at each of those matchups:

Dolphins vs. Jets, 1 PM: Miami will be at home for this one and everything will depend on which Miami team shows up. The Dolphins can be pretty good and then they can also get shutout by the Bills.

Chargers vs. Chiefs, 4:25 PM: The Chiefs come to San Diego having already locked up a Wild Card spot. Do the Chiefs play all of their starters the whole game or do they lie down to their division rival Chargers and rest key players?

Steelers vs. Browns, 1 PM: The Steelers likely win their home finale, but you can’t completely count out Cleveland. If Josh Gordon continues to be uncoverable, it’s not out of the question for the Browns to pull an upset.

If all three teams lose, the Ravens are in, no matter what happens in their game. That, in my opinion, is extremely unlikely and the Ravens need to take care of business in Cincinnati. If Baltimore can pull out the win, all they need to worry about are Miami and San Diego. Should Miami win, I would expect the game in San Diego to become Must See TV for all of Raven Nation.

Andrew Holly is a Towson University grad and a diehard fan of everything Baltimore, especially the Ravens and Orioles. Now living in Tampa, Andrew hopes to provide BSR readers with the perspective of an out of town fan who doesn’t conform to the narrative of local sports talk.

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